Lost and Found
by obsessed1
Summary: Things take a turn for the worse for Sheppard. Shep Whump.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the Stargate universe. I'll return it in good order. Probably without a certain Lt Colonel.

_I have no beta so all mistakes are mine._

**Lost and Found**

At the sound of the gate alarm Elizabeth strode out of her office to stand next to the gate technician.

"Anything?"

"Not yet."

"Nobodies due back un-"

"Ah…..hang on," he turned to Elizabeth with a raised finger and smiled, "It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC."

Elizabeth frowned and walked towards the balcony, "His team isn't due back until later today."

The shield was lowered and after a few minutes of waiting anxiously, Colonel Sheppard walked through the gate.

Unusually, he didn't look up and acknowledge her, he simply turned back to stare at the gate while it closed down.

Elizabeth turned back to the gate technician, gave him a nod and then descended the steps to meet Sheppard, all the while wondering where the rest of his team was.

"Colonel?"

He turned at her voice; eyebrows knitted in confusion and soundlessly working his mouth.

Elizabeth noted that he was slightly hunched; he had a cut above his eyebrow and blood was streaming down the right side of his face. A nasty bruise was forming around his eye.

She reached out and touched his shoulder, "Where are the rest of your team?"

He licked his bottom lip, eyes sliding left as he shook his head, "I…."

"Colonel, what happened?" Elizabeth asked, worry beginning to work its way into her expression.

"I……" he turned back to the gate, "I don't know."

"Are the others okay?" Elizabeth turned towards one of the marines who were guarding the gate and mouthed 'call Carson'.

"I _think_ so," he said reaching up and touching his face, "I'm bleeding?"

As Sheppard examined his crimson stained fingers, Elizabeth guided him over to the gateroom steps and sat him down.

"Why did you come back without the rest of your team? You weren't due for another-" she checked her watch, "-five hours."

Sheppard reached up and rubbed at his head, obviously trying to remember something, "I _honestly_ have no idea," he said looking up at her with wide, glassy eyes.

His face was slightly flushed red and there was a bead of sweat following his hairline.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Elizabeth asked.

Sheppard sighed wearily, closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds and then reopened them, speaking rapidly as his mind provided him with some splintered memory, "Rodney was moaning at me about…_something_," he said twisting his hand in the air, "I…I…..really can't remember."

And he couldn't. As much as he tried, he couldn't coax his fractured thoughts into a semblance of order. His mind was completely and infuriatingly blank.

Elizabeth watched his eyebrows scrunch together as he thought. He was beginning to look worried himself.

"It's okay. Doctor Beckett is on his way," she said patting him on the shoulder.

"He is?"

"Yes, so we'll get this figured out."

He stood up, stooped slightly and then let out a yelp.

"What's wrong?"

Through pained exhalations he grimaced and managed to rasp out, "I think….." his mouth twisted, "I have a broken rib."

Elizabeth felt her eyebrows rise up in surprise.

"Maybe you should sit down?"

Sheppard nodded and slowly lowered himself back down, holding his side protectively, pale and sweating, and looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.

She sat beside him, placing her hand on his knee as he leant forward with his head in his hands.

"You should contact the others," he suggested, "Check that they're okay."

"I will," Elizabeth said.

She lifted her hand from his knee, her palm sweating with the amount of heat that was radiating off him. She reached up and touched the back of his neck, and was worried to find that he was insufferably hot.

After a few minutes of waiting, Beckett and a medical team rushed into the infirmary in a flurry of motion, gurney trailing behind the mob.

"Okay, where's my patient?" Beckett said as he scanned the spot by the gate.

"Over here Carson," Elizabeth said, standing awkwardly and gesturing to Sheppard.

Beckett matched her confused face and appeared to be looking for something as he came to stand beside Sheppard.

"He came through without his team," Elizabeth clarified before he could ask.

"Oh," Beckett said kneeling in front to the Colonel, "Okay, let's have ye."

Sheppard lifted his head, "Hey Doc."

"That's a nasty cut you have on your head," Beckett said as he snapped on some latex gloves.

"Is it?" Sheppard asked with a tired blink.

"Aye it is. What happened, Colonel?"

Sheppard looked over to Elizabeth and motioned with his hand for her to answer.

"He doesn't know," She stated.

"How can ya not know?" Beckett asked, "Did you hit your head?"

Sheppard sighed and dropped his head back down onto his knees, the effort too much.

"He didn't even know he was bleeding until I pointed it out."

"Memory loss," Beckett murmured as he mentally catalogued the tests he would have to perform on Sheppard, "Could be a concussion. That would explain his patchy memory. Do you have any more injuries?"

"Ribs," Sheppard mumbled into his knee.

"Okay," Beckett said giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Lets get you to the infirmary and get you fixed up……Colonel," he gave his shoulder a shake, "Colonel?"

Elizabeth moved closer, "John?"

Sheppard remained motionless.

"He's unconscious," Beckett said as he stood up, "Okay, let's gently get him onto the gurney."

TBC

Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the reviews. Excellent form of therapy._

-------------------------------------------

He didn't know how long he had been out. As he tentatively made his way back from the darkness, he knew that he was in the infirmary. He could smell the familiar scent of disinfectant mingled with antiseptic, feel his bare legs brushing against the heavy blanket that was laid over him and the needle in his hand, and he could hear the sounds of machines beeping, instrument trays rattling and muted conversation in the distance.

He cracked his eyes open slowly, a headache surfacing into the light with him.

He had only just focused on the room and his surroundings when Beckett was beside his bed and lifting it up to a more comfortable angle.

"Infirmary?" Sheppard asked as he peeked under the covers.

He pulled a face at the backless gown he was wearing. Obviously his distaste for them hadn't been drilled into the nursing staff enough. He'd have to work on that.

"Aye," Beckett nodded as he started to make rudimentary checks.

"I passed out" Sheppard said with a note of disdain.

"Two hours ago," Beckett said as he distractedly scribbled something down on a chart.

Sheppard plucked at the covers and sighed heavily as Beckett placed a thermometer in his ear.

"Two hours," Sheppard groused as he tilted his head and waited for the inevitable beep.

Beckett looked at the readout. "You still have a bit of a temperature."

"Wonderful."

It was bad enough that he couldn't remember anything concrete regarding his return to Atlantis, but now he was going to be stuck in the infirmary too. It was enough to put anyone in a bad mood.

"I've stitched up the cut above your eye, given you a shot of antibiotics and loosely wrapped your ribs, but other than that, you seem to be okay."

Sheppard nodded and absent-mindly scratched at his neck, "Great."

"And I meant to ask you about that," Beckett stated as he crossed his arms.

Sheppard looked up at him, "What?"

"That mark you have on your neck."

Sheppard stopped scratching, "What mark?"

"It looks like a puncture wound of some sort, but your tox screen came back negative."

"I don't know," Sheppard admitted as he studiously felt the area on his neck.

He could feel a welt and it was hot to the touch, but he had no recollection of where it came from.

"Maybe it's a hive," he said with a shrug "I must be allergic to the infirmary."

"That's a good one Colonel."

"I thought so."

Beckett pulled over a stool and made himself comfortable, "You still don't remember anything?"

"Nothing."

"You don't know why you came back before the rest of the team? Or how you got the cut on your head?"

"No."

"Okay."

Beckett's kind eyes settled on his.

"Is that bad?"

The Doctor gave him a small smile.

"It's bad."

"It's not uncommon to have memory loss after a concussive blow."

"So you're saying that I could have just……_fallen_ over?"

"Aye."

"That doesn't sound like me. In fact, that sounds pretty lame."

"You'll probably find that your memory comes back over the next few days. I'm going to keep you in for observation tonight and we'll see how you're doing tomorrow."

"You know, I'm feeling fine now so-" Sheppard pulled the covers aside.

"I don't think so," Beckett said pushing the covers back over him.

"_Doc_," Sheppard whined.

He opened his mouth to say more but he suddenly became distracted by a raised voice filtering towards him and growing in volume. Sheppard craned his neck to try and see who it was. He sagged backwards with a disgruntled sound when the owner of the voice stalked into the infirmary and stopped at the end of his bed. The figure before him was drenched; their hair was plastered down to their forehead and water was continuously dripping onto the floor.

"What you couldn't tell us you were back on Atlantis? We were looking for you for hours, we thought something had happened, but _oh_ _no_, we radio back and find Colonel MIA is here. You look nice and warm and comfortable by the way. I on the other hand will have water in my ears for weeks and-"

"_Rodney_," Beckett warned.

Mckay turned to him with a pointed glare.

"We got _stuck_ in a torrential downpour searching for Waldo here," Mckay said as he wiped some rainwater off his nose, "And _now_, I'll get a cold," he sneezed," See!"

"I'll go get you a towel. You're dripping water all over my infirmary floor."

Mckay looked like he was about ready to explode, "Then follow me around with a mop and one of those 'floor maybe slippery' signs then."

"I'll be back in a minute, In the meantime, don't terrorize my patient."

Beckett walked off shaking his head.

"Well?" Mckay asked crossing his arms over his chest, "What happened to you?"

Sheppard bowed his head and sighed, "I don't remember."

Mckay was silent for all of two seconds while he processed that information, "What?"

"It's the truth," Sheppard said a shrug.

"Where did you get that cut on your head?"

"Rodney, I just told you, I don't know."

"You're doing this on purpose."

Sheppard's eyebrows rushed upwards, "What?"

"Claiming you don't remember," Mckay clarified, "Is this because of that argument we had? You can't admit I was right."

"Argument? Rodney. I'm going to say this one more time…I-"

"Right okay, so you don't want to tell me, fine," He squirmed uncomfortably in his wet clothes, "More importantly, did you talk to Taran for me?"

Sheppard licked his lips and searched his memory for the name.

Taran. Leader of the Lunayans.

They had agreed to a food trade on the first day of their arrival in exchange for medical supplies.

He remembered the slight man with brooding eyes; however he didn't remember talking with him on his own. In a group? Yes. Alone? No. His brain hurt just trying to recall the supposed event.

"Or have you conveniently forgotten that as well?" Mckay announced in an elevated voice, "I asked you to talk to him about the catacombs. I wanted to go and have a look down there because of the energy spike?"

He was talking to Sheppard as if he was stupid.

Sheppard continued to look down at his hands, "Sorry Rodney. Beckett says I have a concussion."

"Colonel!" Mckay chastised.

"Was it important?"

Mckay sighed and held his hand up as if supplicating himself to some invisible god, "I give up. _Yes_, it was important. Incredibly important!"

Beckett reappeared and tossed Mckay a towel, "He's telling the truth Rodney."

Mckay wiped his face with the towel, "well, I don't bel-"

"Oh look, Teyla and Ronon," Sheppard announced in a bid to change the subject.

Teyla and Ronon were both dry having obviously showered and changed.

"Colonel?" Teyla squeezed Sheppard's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I have a concussion. I can't remember how I came back or why."

Teyla quirked an eyebrow.

"You can't remember?" Ronon asked.

Sheppard groaned and slipped back down the bed, "No."

"Okay, I think he's had enough excitement for today. You can come back later on but the Colonel needs his rest," Beckett said waving them out of the infirmary.

"Fine!" Mckay shouted as he dried off his hair, "I'll be back later."

---------------

Images twisted in his mind, refusing to take solid form, intangible, ungraspable, resurfacing in waves of meaningless sounds and pictures like a bad television signal.

Memories continued to swarm, their meanings elusive and confusing.

Sheppard came awake with a jolt and with an accompanying sense of panic that he couldn't place. As he sat up and pushed the covers away from his sweating body, he could feel adrenaline surging through his veins. Whatever he had dreamt had relevance to him, but as he tried to piece it together it dissipated and became just another unmemorable dream.

He hooked his legs over the bed and mutely dropped down to the floor. After years of practice, Sheppard skilfully took out his I.V, detached any leads and silenced their monitors, and then tiptoed across the infirmary to the cabinet where Beckett kept the supply of scrubs.

After donning a pair of white scrubs and shoving his feet into his boots, he left the infirmary.

--------------------

Mckay had been sleeping soundlessly when somebody rudely knocked his door. He raised his head, blearily read the time and sighed.

"Hang on!" he called out as he pulled on his pants and a t-shirt.

When he opened the door, the last person he expected to be standing there was Colonel Sheppard.

He was dressed in white scrubs with huge army boots, his hair was sticking out more than usual and he was sweating with the mere exertion of standing upright. He smiled weakly and barged into Mckay's room without a word.

"Come in," Mckay grumbled as he closed his door.

"Did I wake you?" Sheppard asked as he pulled out a chair and slouched into it.

Mckay sat down on his bed and yawned loudly, pointing at his face as he did so.

"Sorry," Sheppard said as he held his aching side.

"Not that I don't enjoy being woken up in the small hours of the morning, but what do you want Colonel? And, more to the point, why aren't you in the infirmary? I presume this isn't a fashion statement."

Sheppard waved him quiet," Forget that. Look, I can't sleep. I need you to tell me what we talked about last time I saw you on Lunaya. You said we had an argument?"

"You want to talk about this now?"

"Like I said, I can't sleep."

"You still can't remember anything?" Mckay asked as he rubbed his face.

"No," Sheppard said with a shake of his head, "For my own piece of mind, I want to find out how I-"

"Walked into a wall? Fell down a hole? Tripped and fell on your face?"

"I'm not that clumsy," Sheppard stated with an incredulous look, "I don't think I just tripped on an untied shoelace."

"So you're playing detective at…" Mckay checked his watch, "-three in the morning?"

"Just indulge me okay?" Sheppard pleaded, "I have this gut feeling that something is wrong and I can't shake it."

"Gut feeling? You didn't eat the meatloaf tonight did you?"

"_Rodney_."

"Okay, fine…………we were in the city square and-"

"_Look I'm telling you! There is something in those catacombs. This energy spike is-"_

"_Rodney. I told you already. No!"_

"_Oh come on, just because Councillor Taran said that the catacombs were-"_

"_Unstable?"_

"_If I could just take a look. I'd be careful and-"_

"_I asked for you, remember? Taran said no and I don't want to damage the trade agreement we have made."_

"_Ask again."_

"_I'm not going to let you go down to the catacombs. You're just too damn important to the expedition. If you were to die, we would be lost without you, we wouldn't even know how to open the doors if you were to-"_

"Rodney!"

Mckay waved a dismissive hand at Sheppard, "Fine! You didn't say that last part but that's what the argument was about."

Sheppard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. As much as he sorted through his memories, he just could not remember that happening.

"Did I say I would ask him?"

Mckay nodded.

"_Fine Rodney. I will ask **one** more time, but if he tells me no AGAIN!, will you drop this?"_

"_All I want you to do is try. Taran seems to like you for some reason."_

"_Hey, I'm a likeable guy!"_

"Hey! I'm a likeable guy!" Sheppard admonished.

"And you can't remember if you went or not?" Mckay asked as he eyed up his bed tiredly.

"No," Sheppard yawned and stood slowly, his ribs protesting the movement.

"Well, we should go back. Find out if he said yes," Mckay's eyes lit up, all thought of sleep forgotten.

"He would have said no," Sheppard said as he shuffled towards the door.

"Well, we'll see," Mckay palmed the door open, "Because Elizabeth said we can go back."

"Oh she did, did she?"

"Yes. Colonel, go back to the infirmary before Carson starts birthing lambs," Mckay turned back to his bed.

-------------------------

Sheppard walked the darkened corridors, silently hoping that Beckett hadn't noticed he had left. He thought that the pillows under the covers had looked fairly convincing.

He wasn't that far off the infirmary when a dizzy spell crippled him and had him staggering against the wall.

An image flashed in his mind that had him panicking and his hand clamping onto his neck.

"What the-"

His legs buckled, he sank to his knees, heart clamouring to get out of his chest as the image he had seen and understood so clearly seemed to fall away from him.

Just like his dreams, it dissolved and after a minute he was left sitting in the corridor and unable to remember what he had seen.

Only the pervasively oppressive panic remained and he had no idea why.

**TBC**

_As always, the story comes together in bits and pieces so you'll have to keep reading to know what happens. Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up in a few days so you wont be kept guessing too long between updates._

_Please review if you are reading. Thank you._


	3. Chapter 3

After picking himself up off the floor, Sheppard had staggered to the infirmary, tiptoed back to his bed and had slipped under the covers. He had been inexplicably exhausted and it felt as though he had only just closed his eyes when he was awakened by the morning light streaming into the infirmary.

Beckett had cleared him for duty, but had spent a good half an hour lecturing Sheppard on the fact that he had taken his I.V out and changed into scrubs. It also hadn't escaped his notice that Sheppard had disappeared in the night; he had tried to give a neurological exam to a pillow. Apparently, the pillow had been far more co-operative.

Sheppard had gone straight back to his quarters, had a long hot shower, and then spent a further five minutes staring at himself in the mirror while he dripped water all over the floor. The mark on his neck had gone but he had the unsettling feeling that it was significant and that nothing good would come of it.

He pulled on his pants and padded barefoot through to his bedroom to towel off his hair. As he walked he spoke out loud.

"So…… I was talking to Mckay and then I went to see Taran…." He shook his head as he tried to coax his mind to remember something, "_Did_ I go and see Taran?"

It was infuriating. He felt like he was losing his mind as he failed to remember something that had happened only yesterday, "Dammit!"

He just couldn't remember. It was as if somebody had gone into his mind and physically plucked out the information. He shuddered at the thought. Surely he would remember something like that.

He was beginning to wonder if his headache was in fact the product of some invasive procedure when there was a knock at his door.

Before he had even opened it, he knew who would be standing there and sure enough Mckay barged passed him and into his room.

"Come _in_ Rodney," Sheppard said as he dried off his hair.

"We're going back," Mckay said dropping down onto Sheppard's bed.

Sheppard parted the towel to look at Mckay, "What?"

"Lunaya. We're going back," Mckay smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.

Sheppard pulled the towel off his head and threw it onto his bed, "Did I miss something?"

"The briefing we had this morning, yes," Mckay waved his hand blithely, "the point is, is-"

"Why wasn't I contacted?" Sheppard asked, growing more annoyed by the minute.

He was CO of Atlantis, the leader of their team, and he wanted to know why he hadn't been asked to the briefing.

"You were having your physical and we didn't really need you there anyway, but-" he paused at Sheppard's pointed look and then continued as if he hadn't noticed, "-Elizabeth wants us to finalise the trade agreement and she said I could ask Taran again about the strange energy signature."

"She did?" Sheppard sighed.

"So we're going back in a few hours."

"Maybe I don't want to go back," Sheppard stated mirroring Mckay's pose.

"Oh come on, we need to organise the trade anyway. You're just annoyed because I got my own way."

"You _always_ get your own way," Sheppard said as he reached for his boots.

"That's because I'm always right and as much as you all hate to admit it, you _need_ me," he said hooking a thumb at his chest.

Sheppard quirked an eyebrow, "If this was a show then it would be called 'The Rodney Mckay show'"

He grunted when he pulled his ribs and looked up to see Mckay deep in thought, "I would have thought that it would be called something like 'Gateship Atlantis' or 'Stargate Atlantis' or……hmm….never mind. Anyway, three hours Colonel. Don't' be late."

And before Sheppard could retaliate, he was gone, probably with a smug grin plastered on his face.

---------------------------------

As soon as Sheppard had stepped through the gate and onto Lunaya, his stomach had twisted reflexively and he had felt unusually uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was there. An unsettling feeling at the pit of his stomach that only increased with every step he took.

Lunaya was much like earth, but only aesthetically. They were still nowhere near as advanced in terms of their military, medicine and government and had jumped at the chance to exchange medicine for food when they had first arrived.

The gate was set just outside of the walled city and the walk to the central square gently sloped passed modern looking houses and buildings.

"Are you okay Colonel?"

Sheppard snapped out of his own thoughts and realised that it was the second time that Teyla had asked him that question.

"I'm fine," he said readjusting his grip on his P90.

"You seem distracted," she touched his arm, concern etched in her eyes.

"Just tired I guess," Sheppard quickly supplied, "Didn't sleep too much last night."

-----------------

They were walking down the long glass corridor towards Taran's office, having been cleared by security, when Sheppard had felt his stomach knot again.

An intangible memory resurfaced, slammed into him, refused to materialise and then flitted away before he could really grasp it.

He stopped dead in the corridor and Ronon walked into his back, jolting him forwards and catching him by his elbow before he could fall flat on his face.

"Colonel?" Teyla asked, worry etched onto her features.

"What is it now?" Mckay asked at the expression on Sheppard's face.

Ronon clamped a hand down onto Sheppard's shoulder, "Sheppard?"

The emotionless rumble brought Sheppard out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine," Sheppard said with a shake of his head, "Just……"

He couldn't put into words the strange feeling he had experienced. It felt as though something was eluding him. It was as if he couldn't quite remember if he had left the oven on or not.

"Let's keep going," Sheppard stated with a sigh.

"Are you sure that you are okay?" Teyla fell into step beside him, her eyes searching his for some explanation.

"Just feel like I've forgotten something," Sheppard said.

"Well, don't forget to ask about the catacombs," Mckay reminded him.

"Yeah I will," Sheppard broke off from them and headed for the Chancellor's chambers as they waited outside.

He stopped before he knocked, took a steadying breath, and then rapped the door with his knuckle.

A second past, there was an abrupt 'come in' and Sheppard slipped into Taran's inner sanctum.

Chancellor Taran stood up from behind his desk and an almost imperceptible look of surprise passed over his features.

"Colonel Sheppard!"

"Chancellor," Sheppard nodded.

He deliberately took his hands off his P90 and stepped over to shake Taran's hand.

Last time Sheppard had met Taran, he had been with the rest of the group, at least that's what _he_ remembered, and he had been easy company, knowing what to say and when to say it, but most of all he had been relaxed in their presence.

But this was not the man Sheppard was seeing before him right now. Not by any stretch.

Taran was stumbling over his words, his handshake was weak and trembling and he exuded tension.

_And_ he kept looking at Sheppard strangely, as if he expected something to happen.

"If this is a bad time-" Sheppard started.

Taran held his hands up and elicited a panicky laugh, "No, this is a fine time."

Taran licked his lips and stepped behind his desk, "What can I do for you?"

Sheppard leaned forward on the desk and Taran took a noticeable step back, "Well, I'd better ask this first to get Doctor Mckay off my back, but would he be able to go down to the catacombs?"

Taran was staring at him and when Sheppard met his gaze he furtively looked down at the table, "As I have told you before, I'm afraid that won't be possible. They are unstable. He would not be safe."

Sheppard nodded, "Thank you. I told him you would say no but he didn't listen."

Taran was silent, hands fidgeting nervously.

"Well," Sheppard began, "We're here to finalise the trade agreement."

Taran looked uncomfortable, "I'm afraid that also won't be possible."

Sheppard frowned, "Why?"

"Seems we…uh….cant meet your needs. It would be too much and-"

"But you said you had plenty of food to-"

"Yes, I know. Circumstances have changed and we cannot help you. In fact, we don't want you to visit any longer either."

Sheppard was taken aback, "I'm sorry?"

"That is all I have to say. Now if you would just leave."

Sheppard licked his lips, "I don't understand."

He really didn't.

"Please," Taran stated as he edged backwards.

"Has something happened here that-"

"No!, we have simply _changed_ our minds. Now, if you could ……..leave."

Something had happened alright. They had been on excellent terms with Taran and now he was acting strange and discarding them for no good reason.

"Okay." Sheppard said.

He turned to leave but something stopped him. He faced Taran once more as a feeling struck him.

Taran was watching him closely. Was that fear in his eyes? Fear at what?

"You must go."

Sheppard walked to the edge of the desk, where there was a blank space and he pointed, "Was there a…..this might sound _odd_, but was there…a…..statue here?"

Taran stepped away, "No."

Sheppard might have believed him but in his mind he could see it.

He could remember it being there and yet he had never been to this office before, unless- "Did I visit you the other day?"

Taran shook his head, "No."

"Are you sure, because I'm sure I remember there being a-"

"You can't remember?"

Was that hope in Taran's eyes? A sigh of relief?

Sheppard reached up to his head. It had suddenly started to pound again and he was beginning to feel pitifully nauseous. He reached out for the edge of the table to steady himself and swallowed hard.

"You should leave."

Sheppard managed to instil control and reached up to his neck.

"Did something happen in here?" Sheppard asked.

Taran was silent. His mouth was pursed into a thin line, his chin was trembling.

_The statue fell from the desk and shattered, hundreds of white shards scattered across the floor._

"No," Taran answered in an exhausted voice.

----------------------------

Mckay paced back and forth as they waited outside the Chancellor's office.

A hand planted on his chest and he looked up and into the eyes of Ronon.

"If you don't stop walking-"

"What?" Mckay asked as he took an exaggerated step backwards, "You'll break my legs?"

Ronon tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow.

Mckay stopped dead and held his hands up, "See, no pacing."

Ronon went back to his position of leaning against the wall.

The door to the Chancellors office opened a crack and Chancellor Taran emerged, "Uh excuse me."

"Where's Sheppard?" Mckay asked.

"Colonel Sheppard is quite unwell. I think perhaps you should take him back to your own planet."

Teyla was the first to head for the door, motivated by concern, "He is?"

"Yes, he-"

Teyla pushed passed Taran and entered his chambers. She found Sheppard leaning against the desk, his head bowed and his face unnaturally pale.

"Colonel?"

He didn't answer. He was continually swallowing in the way someone does when they're trying not to be sick.

Ronon and Mckay entered.

"What have you done to him?" Ronon asked as he glanced at Taran.

"Nothing!" Taran voiced in a defensive tone.

"He didn't ……….do …….anything," Sheppard managed to grind out.

"What's going on?" Mckay asked as he watched Teyla guide Sheppard away from the desk, "Did he ask about the catacombs?"

"Rodney, this is not the time," Teyla warned.

"Of course I'm concerned for the Colonels welfare…I'm just more concerned about the energy readings."

"As I told Colonel Sheppard, we will not be trading with you," Taran said.

"What?" Mckay moved aside as Teyla walked the Colonel out into the hallway.

"We cannot meet your needs."

"I don't believe you," Ronon voiced.

"I would like you to leave Lunaya, the way you came," Taran sat behind his desk, "Thank you."

"But-" Mckay opened and closed his mouth a few times before turning to Ronon.

"Thank you Doctor Mckay, Ronon. Give the Colonel my regards."

"Bu-"

"Time to go Mckay," Ronon said as he pushed him out of the room.

They found Sheppard and Teyla outside in the square. Sheppard was sitting on the squares fountain and drinking out of his canteen as Teyla proceeded to fuss over him.

When Sheppard saw Mckay and Ronon coming, he politely extricated himself from Teyla and walked over to meet them.

"What was that all about?" Mckay asked with a heavy sigh.

"Colonel, you should sit down and-" Teyla reached for Sheppard's arm.

Instead, he intercepted her hand and gave it a squeeze, "I'm feeling better. Must be this concussion or something-" he trailed off, knowing that it wasn't.

"Elizabeth is not going to be pleased," Mckay moaned.

"Chancellor Taran must have his reasons," Teyla reasoned.

"I don't trust him," Ronon affirmed.

"Well, either way. He's not going to trade. We'll give him a few days to calm down and then come back."

"We're just going to leave?" Mckay asked.

Sheppard started to walk towards the gate, "Time to go Rodney."

They walked back to the gate in silence. They were confused more than anything with Taran's sudden decision change.

"This just makes no sense," Mckay announced as he dialled up the gate.

Sheppard nodded solemnly as he retrieved his IDC transmitter.

"One minute he wants to trade and the next he doesn't."

"Perhaps Taran has re-evaluated his situation," Teyla added.

"What did you say to him the other day?" Mckay asked Sheppard.

"I didn't," Sheppard said as he massaged his head, "At least, I don't think so."

The gate flushed outwards.

"Punch it in," Mckay gestured to the IDC transmitter in Sheppard's hands.

Sheppard nodded and went to press the numbers.

The problem was he couldn't remember them.

As much as he searched his mind, he could not remember his code.

Five, seven, three, four or five, seven, five, four.

His headache was intensifying and the nausea was back with a vengeance.

"Oh I'll do it," Mckay said reaching for his own device and missing Sheppard's look of panic.

"Atlantis, do you have confirmation?" Mckay asked.

"_This is Atlantis, you're clear to come through."_

"Colonel?"

Sheppard turned to Teyla.

"Ready?"

He nodded, pocketed his IDC and walked with her to the gate.

His headache.

He couldn't remember because of his headache.

He convinced himself that it had to be that, because if it wasn't, he had a terrible feeling something was wrong.

----------------------

_**TBC**_

_Its coming together slowly :D_

_Review please._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for all of the reviews so far :D _

_As always I have no beta…..because I'm a rebel. LOL! _

-----------------------------------------

The gate closed behind them with an audible whoosh and Sheppard took a cleansing breath to abate his nausea.

As the rest of his team disappeared to get some dinner he ascended the steps to Elizabeth's office, trying to unclip his P90 and unzip his tactical vest with trembling fingers.

Whatever illness he had suffered on Lunaya was still lingering and all he wanted to do was have an early night.

As he approached Elizabeth's office he could see that she was talking with two scientists. She looked up and acknowledged him and he gave her a little wave as he walked over to the balcony to wait for her to finish.

He leant against the railings with a weary sigh and plucked his IDC transmitter out of his pocket. Turning it over in his hands he recited the code in his head and wondered why he had forgotten it only minutes earlier. He reached up to his face and tentatively prodded the bruised area around his eye as if that was explanation enough.

"Sir?"

Sheppard slowly turned to the voice.

The soldier standing in front of him indicated to Sheppard's gear and smiled, "Would you like me to take your weapon down to the armoury?"

Perks of being Commanding Officer, somebody always offered to stow his equipment.

Sheppard passed the soldier his P90, relinquishing his white knuckle grip.

"Thank you Lt-"

He stopped abruptly and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry it's Lt-"

He clicked his fingers, much like Mckay would have, and closed his eyes.

"Briggs," the soldier said with a nod.

"Briggs," Sheppard repeated, "Of course."

The Lieutenant walked off. _Briggs_. He'd talked to him a number of times. They'd even gone off-world together on occasion.

He didn't have time to ponder why that name had eluded him because Elizabeth walked out of her office and joined him.

"Colonel."

"Doctor."

"I was just going to get some food if you wanted to come with me and update me on MX490."

Sheppard wasn't hungry and his stomach was protesting the mere thought, but he knew at the best of times that Elizabeth often forwent eating because of matters that required her attention.

"Sure," he said holding out a hand that said 'after you.'

"So, how did it go?" Elizabeth asked as they negotiated the halls to the commissary.

She wasn't going to like this.

"Taran doesn't want to trade."

Elizabeth stopped dead in the corridor and turned to him with a mixed expression.

"What? Why?"

Sheppard shrugged, "He said he couldn't meet our needs. That they didn't have enough food."

They started walking again, both falling into synchronous step.

"And you believe him?"

"Not really. Something strange was going on. He looked a bit spooked when I visited him."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Do you think that there is anything else we can do?"

Sheppard moved out of the way of a scientist carrying supplies. "He seemed set on his decision."

Elizabeth reached up and rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

"He also said that he didn't want us to go back to his world."

"Why would he do that?"

"No idea."

They arrived at the commissary and found it bursting with personnel. They both grabbed a tray and fell in line.

"Perhaps I should talk to him," Elizabeth stated as she loaded up her tray.

Sheppard reached for a glass of orange juice and the blandest meal he could find to placate his groaning stomach, "You think you can change his mind?"

"I'm a diplomat," she said, quirking an eyebrow,, "I'll go and see him tomorrow."

-----------------------------------

Sheppard paced his room and again started to speak out loud, twisting his hands together as he did so and stopping now and again to let out a frustrated groan.

"Osprey, black hawk, tornado, F302……….."

He kicked a stray shoe across the room and started the ritual again.

"Osprey, black hawk…….."

It had all started with a conversation he had had with one of the new recruits after Elizabeth had left the commissary. They were both pilots and had been talking about the types of aircraft that they had flown over the course of their respective careers. Problem was, Sheppard couldn't remember all of them, in fact, there seemed to be a huge gap in his knowledge concerning his _own_ history. His favourite to fly and he couldn't remember its damn name. He had sat in the commissary for a further few minutes futilely trying to pull the information out of his tired brain until, somewhat embarrassed and disturbed, he had made an excuse and headed for his room.

Since then he had been trying to remember that damn aircraft's name. He had written a list. He had mentally said them out loud. He had even tried to go on the internet before he remembered that he was in Atlantis and that was taking the concept of wireless to a new extreme.

No. It was gone.

Just like that.

He wasn't that old.

Okay, he was on the bad side of thirty five but he wasn't past it yet.

He slumped down onto his bed unable to stop his obsessing and he lay back, not caring that it hurt his ribs.

"Osprey, black hawk, little bird tactical helicopter, tornado, F302…….."

It was no good.

He sat up suddenly and smiled. His photo album. Maybe there was a photo of it in there.

Refuelled by the notion that he might have wrapped up the mystery, he moved over to his drawers and started to riffle through them. He tossed knick knacks aside, placed hidden paperwork on the floor and eventually pulled out the drawer and tipped it upside down.

His photo album fell amongst the other rubbish and he picked it up and quickly flipped through the pages, eyes scanning each picture methodically.

He rolled his eyes as he looked at photos he had long forgotten about and some rather dorky ones of himself that would never see the light of day. Or more precisely, Rodney.

Finally, he flipped a page and there it was. Large, sleek, powerful, grey. He was standing beside it proudly with a big shit eating grin and it was called a…………….

"Dammit!"

He threw the album across the room and it connected with the wall with a loud thud. Fugitive photos escaped and scattered to the floor.

Sheppard sat back on his heels with a grunt and rubbed a hand over his face.

He felt like he was losing his mind.

Literally.

-----------------------------------------

_The white statue hit the floor and broke into pieces. The sound was muted against the thud of his own frantic heartbeat. _

_Pain. _

_Pain in his neck had him completely immobilised. _

_His head hurt. _

_Something flooded through his veins and………. _

He awoke with a choked breath and immediately ripped the covers off, staggered through to the bathroom and reached the toilet just in time to empty his stomach contents.

He wasn't surprised to find that his headache was back and as he pushed himself up into a standing position he could see little pinpricks of light in his vision.

He swilled his mouth out and dried the sweat off his face.

He couldn't even remember what he had dreamt but it had been enough to make him physically ill.

Glancing over to his bed, he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Headache or no headache. He wasn't going to be able to settle.

--------------------------------------------

Beckett was in a foul mood when he found Colonel Sheppard in the armoury. It was eight in the morning and he had just been asked by Teyla if Sheppard had come to see him about his dizzy spell and nausea from the day before.

He didn't know what it was with the man but he just seemed to have a complete lack of interest in his own well being. When it came to others he went to great lengths to ensure that they were well and he couldn't understand why Sheppard didn't spare himself the same consideration.

Sheppard was leaning into a crate when Beckett entered.

"Colonel Sheppard?"

Sheppard remerged from the box with an armful of P90's and looking like he hadn't slept for a year. There were noticeable dark circles under his eyes that told all.

It had become a habit with Sheppard to watch for nuances and changes in posture to determine if the man was well.

If he came back from a mission he would have to be especially vigilant in making sure that the Colonel had slept while he had been away, if he had been eating and if he might of sustained an injury. He would have to ask the other members of his team to make sure that he was really okay and if the Colonel actually admitted to injury he would have to assume it was always a lot more serious than he was letting on.

A badly sprained wrist had once turned out to be broken.

A cut on his leg had turned out to be an arterial bleed and one time, a cough had turned out to be pneumonia.

The man wasn't stupid, just overly concerned with everyone else to the detriment of his own health.

" Carson," Sheppard said with a forced smile.

"Did you forget to do something yesterday?"

Beckett crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Sheppard started to place the weapons on the shelf, all the while his eyes were narrowed as he thought.

"I'll tell ya shall I? Teyla said you were ill off-world yesterday and you haven't come to see me about it."

"I was feeling better," Sheppard lied as he reached for his clipboard.

He concentrated on cataloguing the crate as Beckett continued to stare at him.

"Colonel, you had a serious concussion. I shouldn't have to tell you that-"

"Look, just let me finish this and then I will come and see you."

"No you wont," Beckett said as he held up his medical kit, "Sit down."

Sheppard looked confused, "What?"

"Sit down and I'll examine you here."

"Carson I-"

"I just want to take your blood pressure, do a few neurological tests and then you can get on with this important task."

"It is important."

"Aye and I'm sure it will be important when you collapse from an aneurism."

Sheppard put his clipboard aside and sat on one of the crates, "Fine," he said holding out his arm.

There was a ghost of a smile on Beckett's face as he reached into his medical kit, "You know the drill Colonel."

Sheppard sighed, "I just felt a little dizzy and nauseous."

"And?" Beckett asked as he fastened the blood pressure cuff around Sheppard's arm.

"And I had a headache. That was it."

"And?" Beckett looked at the readout and made a 'hmm' noise.

Sheppard rolled his eyes, "I forgot my IDC code……because of the headache. It was pretty bad."

"Hmmm," Beckett nodded and reached for his penlight.

"Well?"

"Follow the light."

Sheppard did as he was told but grumbled under his breath like a petulant child.

"Good. Okay, can you stand up, close your eyes and hold your arms outstretched."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows in confusion, "Sorry?"

"Just do it, please."

Sheppard jumped off the crate and did as instructed. After a few seconds of standing with his arms outstretched and feeling like Beckett was playing a joke on him he said, "So?"

Beckett turned when a soldier entered the room.

"Uh sorry," he stuttered as he stared at his CO.

"Come back later. I'm having my medical," Sheppard moaned.

"Uh, yes sir. Sorry sir."

The soldier slipped out of the room quietly.

"You can put your arms down now."

"Would you like me to drop my pants and cough while you're exercising this rite in ritual humiliation?"

"Don't be a baby Colonel."

Sheppard sat on the crate again.

"And that was for?"

"I was testing your balance."

"And I'm…balanced right?"

"Aye," Beckett said as he pocketed his penlight, "If you weren't it could signify a neurological problem. As it is, I would say that you're still suffering with the concussion you received. Do you still have a headache?"

Sheppard grit his teeth and nodded.

"Okay, I can give you some Tylenol and I'd say rest up for today. If you still feel bad tomorrow I'll have you in for another CT scan."

"Yes Sir," Sheppard said as he saluted sloppily.

----------------------------------

Sheppard was in a bad mood after being told on by Teyla and then having Beckett examine him in the armoury, so when he arrived in the gateroom and found Mckay, Ronon and Teyla getting ready to go off-world, his mood, surprisingly, didn't improve.

"What's going on?" Sheppard asked as he approached them.

Mckay looked down at his tactical gear and sighed, "What does it look like?"

"Well it looks like you're all going off-world without me," he crossed his arms over his chest and gave Mckay a pointed look.

"You'd be right," Mckay said with a smug smile.

Sheppard exhaled sharply, "And I wasn't informed because?" he motioned with his hands for Mckay to elaborate.

"John I told you I was going back to see Chancellor Taran," Elizabeth said appearing behind him. She too had a tactical vest on.

Sheppard looked between each of them and tried not to let his anger get away from him, "I wasn't told."

"Yes you were," Elizabeth said narrowing her eyes, "I told you yesterday and I said I would be going today. We talked about this in the commissary and you agreed that it was a good idea."

Sheppard felt his stomach knot, "I did?"

"Yes you did. I asked you to attend the briefing this morning but you didn't turn up and-"

"What?" Now he knew he wasn't going insane, "I would have remembered that."

"Well you obviously didn't this morning," Mckay chimed in.

Sheppard uncrossed his arms and let them fall loose at his side.

Elizabeth reached out and touched his arm, "Are you okay?"  
He took a step back and laughed, "Yeah. Me? I'm fine. It just slipped my mind."

"We won't be gone long."

Sheppard nodded, "I'm sure you won't. Just be careful. I don't trust that guy."

"Okay," Elizabeth turned to the gate technician, "We're ready."

"Dial it up!" Sheppard shouted for want of having something constructive to do.

He stood and watched them as they disappeared through the event horizon and confused headed up the gateroom steps.

--------------------------------

"Is Colonel Sheppard okay?" Elizabeth asked as she greedily took in the sights of Lunaya.

She didn't go off-world very often but when she did she loved every minute of it. She was an explorer by nature and being cooped up on Atlantis she would become very jealous of watching her teams go without her.

"Why do you ask?" Mckay asked as he studied his life signs detector.

"He just seems a little-" she tried to find the words.

"Distracted?" Teyla provided.

"I was thinking more…forgetful," Elizabeth elaborated as they reached the city square.

"He's probably got brain damage from that fall he took," Mckay pondered.

"Rodney."

"Well he must be getting old or something then," Mckay suggested.

"Perhaps he is simply strained," Teyla said.

"Burden of command," Ronon said.

"I'll talk to him about it when we get back. For now, I want to speak to Taran and see if we can't get this trade agreement back on track."

As before they reached Taran's door and gave it a knock.

"I can't see him being much help," Mckay added as he stood up straighter.

The door opened and Chancellor Taran let out an exasperated sound, "I told you that I didn't want to trade."

Elizabeth stepped forward, "I am Doctor Elizabeth Weir."

She held her hand out and the Chancellor stared at it as if it were something offensive.

"Why are you here?"

"I know you told Colonel Sheppard that you didn't want to trade Chancellor, but I would like to try and-"

"I said no."

"Please Chancellor. We have much to offer you and if you are unable to give us the food we initially negotiated we may be able to offer you manpower so that you may-"

"No. I said no."

"Chancellor. If you would just give me a minute of your time we-"

The door slammed shut on them.

"Well, that went well," Mckay said.

Elizabeth knocked again, "Chancellor please."

"He doesn't want to talk to you."

The voice startled them all and they turned in unison to the feeble voice.

There was an old looking man standing before them, he was slightly stooped and his hair was a shocking white. He looked much like a very old, very shrivelled, very thin, Santa Claus.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.

The little man edged towards them, nervously eyeing Ronon and Teyla's weapons before saying, "I am Fen."

"Is there something wrong with Chancellor Taran or-" Elizabeth was cut off before she could finish.

"He's lying. I can't stand lying," Fen said as he twisted his hands, "Hate it."

"Oookay," Mckay said with a nod, " Elizabeth. We're not going to get anywhere with Taran so-."

"We should leave if he wishes," Teyla said.

"No," Fen said again in a loud voice, "I mean…no," he stated lowering his voice, "You must come with me."

"And why would we do that?" Ronon asked.

"Yeah why?" Mckay added in an irritated voice.

Fen pushed a hand through his hair and looked at them through squinted eyes, "Because as I said, I cannot lie any longer and this matter…. you. Or rather, it concerns Colonel Sheppard."

Elizabeth glanced over to Ronon and then back to Fen, interest piqued, "What are you talking about?"

"Not here. If Taran knows that I have told you…" he shook his head, "We made a mistake and he is not willing to face the consequences."

"What have you done?" Ronon moved closer to Fen, his hand pointedly on his weapon, fingers twitching to use it.

"Not here. Please. Come with me."

_TBC _

_Please review and I'll be eternally grateful. _


	5. Chapter 5

They had begrudgingly followed Fen down to the catacombs.

"Unstable huh?" Mckay said, "They look perfectly stable to me."

Ronon kept his fingers curled around his weapon as he followed Fen through the darkened passageways. They were barely high enough for him and he had to stoop to avoid cracking his head on the craggy rocks.

"I told you there was something down here," Mckay said in a self satisfied tone.

Mckay's pace was quickening to catch up with Fen so Ronon gripped him by the back of his tactical vest and hauled him to a position behind him. Whether this Fen character was telling the truth was still to be decided and he knew only one thing; if Fen turned out to be a liar he was going to make sure that he was the one between him and the rest of the team.

"How much further?" Ronon asked, his voice echoed around him eerily.

"Not much further," Fen answered in a small voice, "My lab is just ahead."

"And what is in this lab?" Mckay asked.

Fen threw a glance over his shoulder and sighed, "You'll know soon enough."

"Sounds interesting?" Mckay answered quickly, "I say that because I picked up an energy reading down here and-"

"The generator," Fen replied as he ducked into a room, "for the lights."

He palmed a button on the wall and the lights came on to reveal a cavernous space with tables laden with what looked like scientific tools.

Mckay looked crestfallen as he consulted his LSD, "The generator?"

Elizabeth patted him on the shoulder as she entered the room and as she tried to walk passed Ronon, he again stopped her in her tracks.

Fen didn't miss the move.

"It's okay," he said holding his hands up defensively, "I don't have a weapon. I'm not going to hurt you."

Ronon simply grunted.

"What is this place?" Teyla asked as she scanned the room.

"My lab," Fen answered with a bow.

"So," Ronon started, "What did you do to Sheppard?"

"Not me," Fen argued, "Or not on purpose anyway. I never meant for it to happen and Taran just wants to-"

"Fen," Elizabeth interjected, "Please. What happened?"

Fen leant up against one of his instrument burdened tables and took in a deep breath.

"He came to Chancellor Taran's office at the most…." He sighed and shook his head, "inopportune time."

"Sounds like Sheppard," Mckay muttered.

Ronon relaxed his hand on his gun. Fen was remorseful, the look in his eyes told him that much and although he didn't trust the little man he could sense that he could be overpowered easily.

"What happened?" Teyla asked.

_Taran and one of his most trusted advisors held down the prisoner as Fen prepared the serum. The prisoner was bucking, trying to get free, his mouth clamped shut by Taran's forceful palm._

"_Hurry up!" Taran instructed._

_Fen approached the prisoner, a feeling of sickness pervading his weary movements. He hated his job. Hated what he had created. All for the greater good, they had told him. The greater good didn't look so great from where he was standing._

_The needle had been hovering over the intended's primed flesh when there was a knock at the door and before any of them could react, Colonel Sheppard had entered the room._

_They stood in frozen silence; the only sound was the prisoner's frantic breathing._

"_What's going on?" Sheppard asked as he reached for his P90._

"_This does not concern you," Taran spoke rapidly, "Please leave."_

"_You're pinning a man, seemingly against his will, against the desk," Sheppard stepped forward._

_The prisoner tried to break free again, his voice muffled by Taran's hand._

"_Leave!" Taran instructed, "Get out of here. You do not understand."_

"_Like hell I don't."_

"_If you do not leave I will be-"_

_Taran's words were cut off. _

_Somehow the prisoner managed to break free. He kicked out at Taran and sent him sprawling backwards to the ground. _

_The prisoner was quick and desperate and before Sheppard could react he felt something connect with his head. Time slowed as he watched the fragmented pieces of a white statue scatter to the ground. He was roughly shoved forwards and into the desk. Burning pain spiked through his chest and he felt something crack on impact._

_In his dazed state, Sheppard's P90 was ripped out of his hand and the prisoner fired a single shot at Taran's advisor. He slumped to the ground and didn't move, his last breath escaping in a pained exhalation._

_Fen watched in horror as the syringe that he had been holding was plucked out of his hand and Sheppard, who was stunned and barely conscious, blood pouring from the gash on his head, was hauled to his feet by the prisoner._

"_I'm leaving here," he shouted in a venom laced voice._

_Taran managed to regain his footing and held up his hands, "Please, no…."_

_Fen stood powerless, too old and too feeble to be of any help._

_Sheppard was reaching down to the weapon on his leg holster, but the prisoner seemed to sense the movement and instead of pointing the large weapon that he was holding at Sheppard, he pushed the needle towards his neck._

"_You won't get out of here alive. You know the rules," Taran stated in a voice that was almost too calm._

"_I'm getting out of here. I won't let you take away what I know. All that I know," the prisoner replied._

_Sheppard was still in the game, his eyes were unfocused and he was barely standing, but he was still cognisant._

_The prisoner pressed the syringe against Sheppard's neck, a rivulet of blood started to run down his neck._

"_Don't do it!" Fen strangled out of his throat._

"_What of my wife? She is pregnant with my son!" the prisoner questioned._

"_You know the rules," Taran stated flatly._

_Taran moved towards the weapon that his advisor had concealed, but the prisoner was too quick. Before Fen or Taran could stop him, he plunged the needle into Sheppard's neck, depressed it and then rammed him forwards and into the desk._

_As Sheppard's lifeless body sank to the ground in mute silence, the prisoner, knowing they would now be distracted, ran for the door._

"_Stop him!" Taran shouted._

"_I can't!" Fen screamed, "What could I do?"_

_Taran moved towards the door but stopped as he reached it._

"_Aren't you going to call the guards?"_

_Taran closed his office door._

"_Chancellor?"_

_Taran turned back to Fen and shook his head, "There is nothing to be done."_

_Sheppard was lying sprawled out on the ground, a steady trickle of blood dripping onto the floor._

"_What now?" Fen asked as he reached down to Sheppard to find a pulse, "He's alive."_

"_They can't find out about this," Taran said with a sigh._

"_What?" Fen flicked his eyes up to his leader._

"_His people. They have superior weapons, they have ships, more men…we cannot tell them. They would destroy us."_

"_How do you know that?" Fen asked in a shaky voice, "We need to get him help."_

"_No!"_

"_Taran."_

"_Chancellor," he corrected, "no, we must take him to the gate. He wont remember this and if his friends find him they will think he simply fell over or-" he paced the room, nearly stepping on Sheppard's awkwardly twisted arm._

"_I'm sure his people will understand. This was a mistake."_

"_We lied to them about the level of our medical technology Fen. Honesty is an important trait and we were not honest with them. Do you think they would understand?"_

"_Maybe."_

"_No," Taran said defiantly, "No, help me get him up."_

"_What?"_

"_We're going to dump him by the gate."_

"_This is…wrong."_

"_Fen."_

"I'm going to kill you," Ronon stated in an angry tone.

"No!" Fen shouted in a feeble voice, "Please. I didn't want to go along with it."

"What was he injected with?" Elizabeth asked, worry now beginning to work its way through her.

"Our prisoners," Fen started as he eyed Ronon's gun, "We don't lock them away."

Mckay was pacing, hands twisting, mouth painted into a thin line.

"We recondition them. Instead of keeping them locked away, we prefer to make them productive members of society again."

"Rehabilitation?" Teyla asked.

"Yes," Fen smiled briefly, "It was my design. My idea."

"Well done," Mckay said sarcastically.

"How do you rehabilitate your prisoners?" Elizabeth asked.

"We inject them with my serum and it makes them forget. Everything," he heaved a sigh, "We wipe their minds clean to eliminate their crimes from memory in the hope that they will not re-offend."

"And Sheppard just got a dose of this serum?" Ronon said.

Fen nodded.

"So he's going to forget…everything?"

"Yes."

"You said he was being forgetful," Mckay said in a panicked high pitched voice to Elizabeth.

"We must do something." Teyla was sounding frantic now, eyes wide in terror.

"Do you have an antidote?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"No…but…" Fen held his hands up, "I _might_ be able to make one."

"We have an excellent Doctor on Atlantis who might be able to help," Teyla suggested.

"You're coming with us," Ronon said.

"I can't," Fen pleaded, "By all means, bring your Doctor here and I will try to make an antidote as you call it. I don't know if I can. It's never been required but I will try. I promise. This was a mistake."

"Why can't you leave?" Elizabeth asked.

"Because Taran would know that I told you and I _need_ this lab. If he knew I was going to help you he would take it away from me and I need the diagnostic tools and research I have here."

"If you're lying," Ronon ground out.

"I'm not. I promise you. I am but an old stupid man who thought his serum would actually help this world. I will try to make this right."

"How long has Sheppard got?" Mckay asked.

Fen shook his head, "It is different with everyone, but it usually takes three or four days for all of the memories to be erased."

"And he'll forget everything?" Teyla asked.

"Even when the memory has been erased we have noticed that the person will retain some subconscious knowledge. It seems that if someone was good at carpentry for instance, even after the serum, they will gravitate towards a job with the same skills."

"Well I'm sure Sheppard will be happy about that!" Mckay stated in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What assurances do we have that you won't tell Taran or be gone when we come back?" Elizabeth asked.

Ronon turned to him, "I'll stay."

-----

When the team, minus Ronon, got back to Atlantis, Elizabeth had been expecting Sheppard to greet them, but she was surprised to find Major Lorne descending the steps instead.

"Where is Colonel Sheppard?" Elizabeth asked as she unzipped her tactical vest.

Lorne smiled, "Hello to you too Ma'am."

"Major, this is serious. Where is he?"

"He went off-world," Lorne said with narrowed eyes as his easy grin dissolved.

"What?!" Mckay announced, "Can he just not sit still for one minute? He's like a child!"

"He went to help with the extraction of a team who had encountered the wraith."

"He knows he shouldn't have gone," Elizabeth said.

"I tried to stop him but he is my boss," Lorne added.

"Dial up the gate and-"

Elizabeth's words were cut of by the gate activating.

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" the gate technician called out.

They raced up the steps to the control room and Mckay immediately sat down to wait for an IDC code.

"Anything?" Elizabeth asked as she nervously divided her time between looking at the gate and Mckay.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC," Mckay shouted.

Elizabeth reached for the gate technician's radio and planted it in her ear. "Colonel?"

"_We're coming in hot!"_

"The shield has been lowered. You're clear to come through."

Lorne descended the steps and took up a defensive position with the other soldiers as men started to emerge from the gate.

Two soldiers were carrying an unconscious scientist between them. They settled him onto the ground. The scientist's face was a myriad of cuts and what appeared to be a severe burn mark.

Sheppard was last to spill out of the gate, limping as he turned to aim at the event horizon.

"Shut it down!" he shouted as a wraith bolt managed to slip through and connected with the far wall.

The gate dissipated and Elizabeth started to call for a medical team.

"What the hell happened out there?" she asked as she ran down the steps.

Sheppard was kneeling over the unconscious scientist, his face a mask of worry.

"Colonel?"

"Yes I know I wasn't supposed to go off-world but they needed me," he answered in a blunt tone as he stood up.

He didn't look to her; he simply continued to look down at the scientist.

Within minutes the medical team were swarming the gateroom and hovering over the injured man.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sheppard asked as one of the nurses who placed an oxygen mask over his mouth.

The nurse didn't answer which led Sheppard to become more frustrated.

"Nurse?"

Beckett looked up as Sheppard hobbled around to him, "Is he going to be okay?"

"You shouldn't have been off-world Colonel and what have you done to your leg?"

"Nothing, I mean…." Sheppard looked distracted, "I fell. Don't worry about me. Is Lanson going to be okay?"

"We'll see. What happened?"

Sheppard turned away from the mass of Doctors as one of the soldiers answered the question. He held up a 9.mil berretta. "His handgun malfunctioned and discharged in his face."

Beckett's eyes opened in amazement, "Good Lord."

"Looks like it was human error," the soldier advised.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked as she watched Lanson be moved onto the gurney.

Sheppard turned and silenced the soldier with his hand and retrieved the weapon, "It was my fault," he said in a defeated voice, "I gave him _my_ handgun when we were running back to the gate. He didn't have one, so I thought…"

"That's not your fault, surely?" Elizabeth asked.

The soldier who had explained the incident dropped his gaze.

"John?"

"It was my human error. I hadn't cleaned my weapon. I …" he stumbled over the words and ran a hand through his hair, "I forgot."

The room seemed to still, any noise dropped away, some of the nurses and even staff up on the balcony turned to look down at Sheppard as he stared down at the floor.

Elizabeth walked over to him and patted him on the arm, "Colonel, would you go up to the conference room."

He nodded quietly and grimaced as he put his weight on his bad leg.

"Beckett, I need you as well."

"Elizabeth, I'm a wee bit busy right now."

Sheppard limped up the steps with the help of Mckay.

"Doctor."

"Aye," Beckett groaned and handed off Lanson to his team, "Get him settled and I'll come check on him in a bit. Make sure you give him a CT scan. "

One of his medical team nodded and the swarm of people disappeared en-masse.

------------------------------

Sheppard entered the briefing room, slammed his P90 down onto the table and tore off his tactical vest.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked in an anguished voice, "Every damn night."

He punctuated his words with a finger that stabbed at the table, "Every night I clean that gun and I forgot?" He laughed harshly and placed both of his hands behind his head.

Teyla, Mckay, Elizabeth and Beckett took up position around the table.

"Look I know that this is my fault," Sheppard admitted as he watched his friends, "…..will Lanson be scarred?"

"John," Elizabeth spoke.

"I just don't know how this has happened."

"John?"

"I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Mckay and Teyla shared a nervous look that Sheppard didn't miss.

"What?"

"John," Elizabeth tried again.

"Where's Ronon?"

"He's back on Lunaya," Elizabeth informed him as Sheppard continued to pace in a tight circle.

"Why?"

"Look John, please just sit down. We need to talk."

Sheppard looked as confused as Beckett felt.

"What's going on?" Sheppard asked as he sat up on the table with a groan.

"Let me look at that leg," Becket asked.

"It's fine. Elizabeth?"

"I don't know where to start," Elizabeth said wrapping her arms around herself.

Sheppard's hard expression softened, "What's going on?"

Mckay cleared his throat.

"Mckay?"

"John," Elizabeth walked over to him, "When we were on Lunaya we were approached by a scientist called Fen and-"

"Never heard of him," Sheppard stated flatly, his mind obviously still on the previous incident.

"You did go to Taran's office. The day you came back here with no memory of how you had hit your head and…" she paused briefly, "you arrived at a time when Taran and this character Fen were going to inject one of their prisoners with a serum that……"

"Hang on;" Sheppard interrupted with a shake of his head, "I'm sure that I would remember something like that."

"They inject their prisoners with a serum to rehabilitate them. It wipes their memories clear in the hope that they won't re-offend."

Sheppard breathed out heavily, "So they lied to us then?"

"The thing is…" Elizabeth sighed and looked to the others for support.

"Oh for god's sake," Mckay straightened up and looked Sheppard straight in the eye, "You were accidentally injected with the serum. The prisoner attacked you, which is why you hit your head and cracked your rib, and Taran and Fen dumped you by the gate. You feel like you're losing your mind because you are."

Sheppard looked puzzled.

"Rodney!" Elizabeth warned.

"What are you talking about?" Beckett asked.

"He doesn't need sensitivity, he needs a cure." Rodney ranted.

"Which is why I'm here," Beckett finally nodded in understanding.

Sheppard stood up and rubbed his head, "So these headaches-"

"Side effects," Teyla said.

"And me forgetting things…that's-"

Mckay nodded.

"Right," Sheppard sat down again, clearly undecided as to how to process this information, "How long?"

Silence greeted him.

"How long?" he asked again.

"Four days at the most," Elizabeth informed him.

"I've been back for two!"

"We know. Carson we need you to go back to Lunaya to help Fen. Ronon is back at the catacombs …I'll get Lorne to escort you."

"I will go too," Teyla said.

"I _should_ go," Sheppard said as he massaged his temple.

"No," Elizabeth affirmed.

"This is my life we're talking about here. My memories."

"I know John, but for now I want you to stay here. We're going to need to keep a low profile on Lunaya and-"

"What? I might forget and do something stupid?"

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Colonel, I'll get you set up in the infirmary before I leave, "Beckett said.

Sheppard didn't respond, he was leaning up against the table, his back to them, deep in thought.

TBC

Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Sheppard had stalked out to the balcony and away from his friends pitying looks. Finding solace on his own, with only the sounds of the sea for comfort, he gripped the railings with white knuckles and exhaled sharply.

He was going to lose his memories. All of them. Worst of all, there was nothing he could do.

His mind was racing with the endless implications of this news. What would be left of him? Would he remember anything of his time in Atlantis? Would he remember the events that lead to his black mark? Would he remember his friends or would they be reduced to anonymous faces passing before him like strangers on the street?

He slammed a balled fist down onto the railing and felt the pain reverberate up his arm and into his shoulder.

He hated not being in control.

He couldn't remember being struck with the needle that was responsible and that bothered him more than anything. It proved that already he was losing his memories and his mind.

The name of his favourite aircraft was already gone, vanished into the ether, and now even the ritual of cleaning his weapon each night eluded him. One man would probably be scarred with the reminder of Sheppard's vanishing mind and after a day or two, Shepard would forget that too. He would be a nameless scarred face in a procession of other nameless entities.

He could feel it happening to him. His skin was imperceptibly hot to the touch, his headache was growing in intensity and his thoughts felt unfamiliar and clouded. The physical effects were telling him that he didn't have much time left.

When the door slid open behind him, he didn't turn; he simply stood straighter and tensed his back.

"You ready?"

Mckay's voice was familiarly hesitant and panicked. If it was possible, Sheppard could sense the man wringing his hands together and shuffling from one foot to the other.

"Sheppard?"

Sheppard swallowed hard, breathed in some of the fresh air and turned.

"For all of Carson's voodoo, I'm sure-"

"I'm ready," Sheppard cut him off as he walked towards him.

Mckay nodded, mouth opening and closing soundlessly, and stood aside so Sheppard could pass.

--------------------------------------------

Sheppard had been escorted to the infirmary, told to change into scrubs and had been hooked up to various monitors that would neither tell them anything they didn't already know or prevent the inevitable from happening. He had listened to Beckett tell him that he would be back as soon as he could as he retrieved a blood sample, watched Elizabeth hover around the foot of his bed before disappearing to wave off the team that would bring back his cure, and had then sat with crossed arms as Mckay had made himself comfortable in one of the seats next to his bed.

"I should have gone with them," Sheppard said as he fiddled with the hem of the blanket.

"They've gone now," Mckay said looking up from his laptop.

"I could just grab my-" he swallowed thickly and stumbled on the words.

He knew he wouldn't be of any use. If he forgot how to load his P90 in an ambush or forgot why they were there he could alert Taran to Beckett and Fens research.

"Just let them figure this one out," Mckay said in tone that didn't convey confidence.

Science, Mckay's science, wasn't going to solve anything either. He was just as useless as Sheppard.

"Are you going to sit there and sulk?"

Sheppard shot him a look and narrowed his eyes, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Funny," Mckay answered dryly.

"I don't need to be in here," Sheppard said as he tugged at one of the nodes attached to him.

"We don't know how you'll react to this serum," Mckay said as he typed.

"I know I'll forget everything," Sheppard said.

Mckay continued to type, eyes focused on the screen.

"The serum has side effects."

"I feel fine," Sheppard lied.

"Carson said you had a temperature."

"I feel…….fine," Sheppard stated loudly.

Mckay sighed, fingers dancing over the keyboard as he worked.

"That's it!" Sheppard said with a sigh.

He kicked the covers aside and started to detach the various wires that were positioned onto his skin.

"What are you doing?" Mckay asked as if he were talking to a child.

Sheppard swung his legs over the edge of the bed as the monitors beeped loudly, "I'm going," he said jumping down.

Mckay waved a nurse off and set his laptop aside, "Carson said to stay here."

"I can lose my mind in my room," Sheppard said as he pulled his boots from under his bed and slipped his bare feet into them.

"They won't be l-"

"Rodney!" Sheppard forced the words out and held up a balled fist, "Please. Just……..don't."

Before Mckay could speak Sheppard stormed off and disappeared around the corner.

One of the nurses switched off the blaring machine and sighed, "Doctor Beckett won't be pleased."

"I know, I _know_," Mckay stated and started to walk off, "Don't move my laptop."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the nurse said with a wry smile.

Mckay rolled his eyes and took off after Sheppard.

He didn't have to go far. He found Sheppard standing out in the corridor, one hand pressed against the wall with his head bowed.

"What are you-"

Sheppard held his hand up to silence him.

Mckay approached Sheppard hesitantly.

Sheppard looked up at him and smiled solemnly.

"I thought you were going to your room?"

Shepard laughed and pressed his back against the wall, hand swiping across his glistening forehead.

"I would," he answered in a voice laced with bitterness, "If I could remember where it was."

Mckay's eyes widened.

"Can you believe that?" Sheppard asked.

"Come on," Mckay said reaching for his arm, "Carson would kill you if you weren't in the infirmary when he got back with the antidote. More to the point he would kill me, so come on…."

Sheppard didn't resist. He merely followed. Feverish, headachy, and broken.

---------------------------------------

Beckett followed Teyla and Lorne through the darkened catacombs, hands nervously clenching his medical bag as he avoided pits and dips in the ground. When he stumbled on an ill-placed rock, Lorne caught him by his elbow and righted him.

"Thanks," Beckett stated and cringed when his voice echoed for what seemed like miles ahead.

"Not much further now," Teyla informed them as her P90's light cut through the blackness.

"You gonna be able to help him Doc?" Lorne asked as he cast a glance back over his shoulder. They weren't being followed. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he didn't think it would be this easy. He was convinced that Chancellor Taran's men would have noticed their arrival.

"Aye, I hope so," Beckett answered.

"I'm sure you will," Teyla added.

"I'm glad ya all have faith in my abilities," Beckett said, "If we can't-"

"Let's not talk about that," Lorne said pressing him forwards.

"We're here," Teyla announced as they reached a well concealed doorway.

On entering Beckett let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and stared up at the cavernous ceiling, "Just….lovely," he muttered.

Ronon looked up from where he was sitting, dangling his gun between his legs, and Fen smiled nervously.

"Doctor Beckett?" Fen asked as he negotiated the work stations to reach him.

"Aye," Beckett answered.

"He give you any trouble?" Lorne asked as Ronon stood.

"No," Ronon smiled and re-holstered his weapon.

The message had been clear. Try anything and be on the receiving end of a weapons blast.

"Well," Beckett said as he hefted his medical bag up onto one of the tables, "Let's get started shall we. I took a blood sample from Colonel Sheppard before I left so we have something to work with. Why don't you tell me how this serum works?"

--------------------------

"You know," Sheppard said as he rearranged the cards in his hands, "I think it's pretty unfair that we're playing Concentration."

Mckay shifted uncomfortably on the end of Sheppard's bed and crossed his legs, "I thought it might help to stimulate your brain. Now I realise that that's a difficult notion but-"

"_Mckay_, watch it," Sheppard said as he turned over two cards.

They didn't match.

"Ha!" Mckay said rubbing his hands together.

He turned two cards over and they matched.

"See!" Sheppard said with a disgusted expression.

"Your turn," Mckay announced as he counted his pairs.

Sheppard turned a card over, "Mary Pearson," he said and then turned another card over.

"No match," Mckay said, "Mary Pearson?"

"The first girl I kissed," Sheppard said as he rearranged the pillow behind him, "Sarah Marrick..first girl I ever.." he smiled.

"My turn. Why are you-"

Sheppard held a finger up, "The first base my father was stationed at was in Texas, my first car was a Ford, it was blue, had a white stripe down the side and I totalled it when I was seventeen. UH-1H Huey, first helicopter I trained in, Bus twenty…used to ride it to school."

"And the point of this is?" Mckay asked as he flipped the cards back over.

"I remember most things from my past," Sheppard said as he took his turn, "But the now seems to be slipping away quicker."

"Makes sense I guess," Mckay said, "Forget the present crimes and the rest follows after."

"Comforting," Sheppard said as he turned over the same cards as before.

On realizing what he had done he sighed and sat back.

"Maybe it won't erase everything."

"I can feel it happening Rodney. See that Nurse over there," he said gesturing idly, "I know her, she treats me every time I'm in here. I think I've _even_ had lunch with her, but I can't remember her damn name."

"What does that matter? I don't remember her name."

"Because I know that I knew it," Sheppard said in a frustrated tone.

"Your turn again."

"Mrs. Mackenzie," Sheppard said as he turned over a card, "My third grade English Teacher, brown curly hair, green eyes, she had a mole on her top lip."

"My turn again Colonel, You're losing this game."

"Michael Clement. I had a fist fight with him in High school. Gave me a black eye and a split lip."

"I'm definitely winning," Mckay said as he picked up another pair.

"My first pet was a Hamster called Speedy. One day my mom was vacuuming. Never saw him again after that."

"You're turn."

Sheppard flipped over a card and another and found a pair. He picked them up and smiled, "Maybe I might just turn this game around."

"Well, at least you still have some memories. Speedy huh?" Mckay chuckled.

Sheppard smiled back at him, "You're turn. Who's speedy?"

------------------------------------------

TBC

_This is just a little teaser for you because I want you to know that I'm still writing this and haven't forgotten about it (LOL!)_

_Concentration or memory as its known._

_RULES: On each turn, a player turns over two cards (one at a time) and keeps them if they match numbers. If they successfully match a pair of numbers, that player also gets to take another turn._

_When a player turns over two cards that do not match numbers, those cards are turned face down again and it becomes the next player's turn._

_Please review and let me know how I'm doing :D_


	7. Chapter 7

Sheppard was tying his boot laces when Elizabeth entered the infirmary. She quickly crossed the distance to question why he was out of bed.

"I'm feeling fine," he stated as he straightened up without meeting her gaze.

Elizabeth studied his face. His cheeks were still flushed with fever and his eyes looked glassy and unfocused. The way that he was clenching his jaw, the way his eyes were narrowed, told her that he still had a headache, but he was waving it off with his usual practiced indifference.

"We still don't know what the serum might do to you," Elizabeth argued.

It was a losing battle. It always was.

"I know," he said as he wiped a hand across his forehead.

"John," Elizabeth fleshed the word out with as much warning as she could muster.

"I'm okay. I'm just going to get some food in the commissary with Rodney and then I'll be coming right back here," he shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper.

Elizabeth was sceptical, not to mention ridiculously worried, but allowed him to walk off anyway. Sheppard was as stubborn as a mule and he would find some way to escape, with or without permission.

She noticed him stop at the exit, unfold the piece of paper and study it closely.

One of the nurses glanced his way and then to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shrugged, walked over to him and peered over his shoulder, just in time for him to crumple the paper in his hands and hide the written content.

Sheppard turned to her, dropped his gaze, and mumbled embarrassedly, "It's a map."

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow in response; confusion apparent.

He sighed and smiled, "Rodney drew it for me so I could find my way to the commissary."

"John, you should be in bed."

"I'm _fine_," Sheppard added, "I've got my map after all."

He stepped out into the corridor, looked left and then walked uncertainly to the right.

---------------------------

Sheppard had managed to negotiate the corridors and find the commissary. Walking the corridors had been unnerving. People passed him and smiled but he couldn't discern names from their features.

New people were arriving on the Daedalus all the time and he couldn't decide if he actually knew any of these people or they were just faces he had yet to be formally introduced to.

He went with the latter. It made him feel better.

Unfortunately for him, when he arrived at the commissary, it was swarming with people, busy with the dinner rush, but he spied Mckay sitting alone on one of the tables, already eating and simultaneously reading a data pad.

Sheppard loaded up his tray, forgot he didn't have to pay, and then dropped his tray down opposite Mckay.

"Well, I made it," Sheppard said as he pulled his chair up to the table and started picking through his food.

Mckay gave him a puzzled look and continued to munch at his food.

Sheppard bit into his sandwich and forced it down through the lump in his throat, "The map you drew was perfect."

Again, the lack of response was irritating. Sheppard tried again.

"What are you working on?" he asked as he downed some of his cola.

Mckay smiled politely, which immediately didn't sit right with Sheppard. Mckay wasn't polite. In fact, he was one of the most difficult and abrasive people he knew.

Mckay cleared his throat, "It's schematics for the sewage system," he said without looking up.

"Right," Sheppard said, narrowing his eyes.

_Sewage schematics? In Rodney's own words, wasn't that the work of a lower echelon scientist?_

Sheppard dropped his sandwich onto the tray and picked up another container housing salad. He picked up a stick of celery and started to chew it; with each mouthful he pulled a face and eventually spat it out onto the plate.

"Ew!" he muttered as he wiped his mouth.

Sheppard nearly jumped when he felt a hand plant down onto his shoulder and a familiar voice say, "Why are you eating that? I thought you hated celery."

Sheppard glanced up and recognised the face immediately. He turned to the person he was sitting opposite and then back up at Mckay.

"And why are you sitting here? So much for waiting for me."

Sheppard picked up his tray, offered the person sitting opposite an apologetic smile, and followed Mckay over to another table.

Mckay placed his tray down, scraped his chair back and dropped into it with a weary expression, "So what were you talking about with Andrews?"

Sheppard glanced back at Andrews and sat down, mind racing.

Mckay obviously noticed his distress, "What's wrong?"

It was beginning. Facial recognition was beginning to slip away. He'd been convinced that that had been Mckay.

"Well?" Mckay asked as he sprayed crumbs across the table.

Sheppard rubbed his temples and swallowed nauseously, "Nothing."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Sheppard nodded quietly, all the while his eyes trained on Mckay's face, trying to drink in every detail so as not to forget it again.

"You not going to eat?"

Sheppard pushed his tray across the table and went to stand, his head spinning, his stomach knotting and clenching, "I'm going to go back to the infirmary."

"But you only just got here."

"I'm not feeling too great," Sheppard mumbled distractedly, "I'll uh…see you later."

------------------------------

Mckay entered the infirmary expecting to find Sheppard sitting in his bed, but was surprised to find only rumpled sheets. He was just about to interrogate one of the nurses when his earpiece crackled to life.

"Hey Mckay, you free?"

Mckay rolled his eyes, "Where are you? I'm in the infirmary."

"Are you okay?"

"I was _looking_ for _you_. Where are you?"

"Well, that's why I'm calling you. You have _got_ to see this."

"See what?"

"It's a surprise. I'm…" there was a pause and the distant sound of paper unfolding, "-in……the corridor leading from the infirmary….to…your right…"

Mckay headed for the door, "I'm coming."

Mckay found Sheppard leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed and his head back.

"Well?" Mckay asked,

Sheppard's eyes snapped open and he stood bolt upright, a grin lighting up his face, "You are _not_ going to believe this!"

Mckay folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head.

"Okay," Sheppard walked over to one of the doors and it swished open.

He turned to Mckay, smiled again, and then stepped into the room. It lit up like a Christmas tree and Sheppard said in an excitable voice, "Well?"

Mckay pushed passed him and walked into the room, circling it, with a look of pointed confusion, "What? What have you found?" He reached into his pocket and retrieved his scanner.

"That's it!" Sheppard said placing his hands on his hips.

"I don't see it," Mckay said as he studied the scans.

"This!" Sheppard said looking up and indicating to the space around him.

"What?" Mckay asked, frustrated that he didn't get whatever amazing thing that Sheppard had discovered.

"The lights," Sheppard drawled.

"The…lights," Mckay repeated as realisation dawned.

"They came on when I entered the room and this isn't the only room it happens in and…" Sheppard walked over to a console and touched it. It lit up too.

"I don't know what's happening to me but its like I have……" Sheppard searched for the word. When he found it he clicked his fingers together, "-Superpowers or something."

Mckay nodded and pocketed his scanner.

"This is cool. I wonder what else I can do," Sheppard said as he circled the room.

"Sheppard."

"I mean this is freaky right?"

"Sheppard?"

"I'm like superman or something."

Sheppard!"

Sheppard turned to him, "What?"

"You should get back to the infirmary."

"Why?..." his eyes widened, "-because of this right? Yeah, good thinking.."

Mckay didn't have the heart to tell him that it was just his ATA gene at work.

--------------------

_TBA_

_It's short…but it shows you I haven't forgotten about it! Please review! I'll try and get the next chapter up soonish._


End file.
